Archives for June 2011

Oh hi there! Now that I have your attention…heh. Anywho, I want to chat with you today about something I have been thinking about over and over the past couple weeks since I got back from vacation and have really been trying to eat better.

If you know me at all, which hopefully you do, because you follow me on twitter and my Facebook fan page AND subscribe to my posts which you can do on the right menu bar…(shameless I tell ya) then you know I LOVE sweets. I love ice cream, cupcakes, candy, chocolate. I also like chips and salsa, cheez it’s, well….most unhealthy things. I will NEVER be one of those people that puts a food “off limits” but I CLEARLY have issues with snacking. Working from home does absolutely nothing to help these issues, because I find myself with my big head in the pantry all. day. long.

So, I recently started becoming more MINDFUL of what I am eating. I don’t mean this in the sense of being mindful of healthy versus unhealthy, I mean actually PAY ATTENTION when you eat so you can fully enjoy it. How many times have you decided to indulge in some yummy treat, and you started eating. And your mind began to wander as you ate. And before you know it, you are done and you didn’t actually ENJOY the food! (Hopefully I am not the only one who does this…)

Well, I am here to tell you I do it all the sitnkin time! It’s like a disease! Then of course I want more, but that’s no bueno. I firmly believe I wouldn’t even need near as MUCH of the desired item if I truly savored it. Huh? For instance. If I am craving chocolate, I will go eat half a bag of Cadbury mini eggs….I may or may not still have 3 unopened bags in the pantry I “stocked up on” after Easter… Who’s counting? Anyway, if I was ACTUALLY paying attention I would probably be satisfied to savor just a small handful. Instead, I mindlessly eat and end up sad because of all the food I ate and super-duper sad because I didn’t even enjoy the delectable treats.

Dilemma. I know. So what have I been doing? Well first of all, when I feel the urge to hit the pantry, I down a glass of water. I don’t drink near enough of the stuff, so even if I am still hungry after, I know it was good for me. I re-acess a few minutes later and if I DO decide a treat is in order, not only do I NOT take the whole bag/box/carton with me, but I actually pay attention. I DO NOT sit in front of the TV or the computer. I DO NOT talk on the phone and I DO NOT WORRY about things. I can be a nervous eater so stressing as I snack makes me snack more.

So, all of that to say, take your time and enjoy your special treats. You probably won’t eat as much, and you will feel more satisfied later. This goes for any food you eat really, but especially for treats (in my opinion) and with that, I am going to go pay a LOT of attention to a bowl of ice cream.

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yesterday I ran an easy 2 miles in my neighborhood and threw in about 3-4 hills. Today I may at my parents after some business appointments I have to go to. This is slightly throwing my schedule off! This is what I wore today to run in. This is one of my favorite outfits. Sorry it’s blurry, I hate where the camera button is on my phone, there is no way to hold it with one hand and have it not be blurry!

QOTD: Do you pay attention to the food you eat? Do you multi task when you eat? Do you find you eat more by doing this?

NO LIE! It was pretty funny. I was at the gym yesterday, running on the treadmill, minding my own business, watching What Not to Wear on TLC. (The poor girl on this episode needed some MAJOR help, so I was focusing big time.) The TV next to the one I was watching caught my eye when I saw something familiar…ME! I nearly FELL OFF the treadmill! I looked around and luckily no one else saw me. HA!

If you will remember awhile back, Bobby and I were part of a TV commercial and photo-shoot for our neighborhood. Also, you may have seen the post on the print ad we were in for the newspaper. Our neighborhood is doing a big ad campaign including two TV commercials, print ads, and a brand new website.

When I got home from the gym, I checked to see if the new website was up, and it was! Ok, so go check out Tradition’s new website. When the site comes up, there will be a picture of a 3D house. Then a new picture comes up, then a guy fishing. Our picture is right after the fishing guy. We are in 3D! Hilarious! Side note, not sure why I look depressed. The guy told me not to smile, so I guess that equals “look depressed” in my brain?

Ok, then if you want to see the video, go to the photo gallery page. There are some pictures of our house under the homes page (all the houses, not just ours) and then you will see on the bottom right a picture of me in a yellow dress and the link for “Homes #2” click that and the video should come up. It’s just a short commercial, you will see Bobby walking out of a house (not our house!) give me a glass of tea and sit down by me. HILARIOUS! What makes me laugh is the shot took about an hour to get for just a quick clip. LOL! Please ignore how dorky I look, mmmk?

I knew the commercial was going to be airing soon, but I figured I would never see it because I rarely watch local channels in the summer, so as you can imagine, seeing myself while sweating it out on the treadmill was hilarious to me! And the fact that Bobby never gives me iced tea on the porch as we laugh and chat about how romantic we are. HAHAHA. yeah…ok.

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Today was cross training day, I did some leg weights at the gym and then did 30 minutes on the bike. My LEFT knee is tweaked a little, (not the IT band side) I think it may be a slight case of runner’s knee. I iced and took ibeprofin. Hopefully it will be ok tomorrow. I plan to do a 3 mile run with hills, then Thursday morning will be my tempo run, Friday cross train, Saturday long run. wwweeeee!

Good morning friends! Aren’t you glad Monday is over? Who has a 4 day work week? I think I shall declare one for myself, HA yeah right. I work 7 days a week. Just not all day. So, I have been holding in some news that I didn’t want to say out loud until it was finalized, but we signed the papers this afternoon so I can FINALLY say, we sold our old house in Madison, MS! After being on the market since September, after many price drops, open houses, and a realtor switch, it finally sold!

So, I must be honest, it is bittersweet. WHAT? bittersweet you say? I know I know, I have been complaining about trying to sell this thing for almost a YEAR. I just happen to be one of those really sentimental people and well, this sounds SO dumb, but I didn’t get to say goodbye. The last time I was there was March, my mom and I went to deep clean it after all the furniture was moved out. I didn’t think twice about it because I knew I would be back…but I haven’t been. YES my new house is awesome and I feel so blessed, but there is something special about a first house as a married person. It was small, but it was ours. We had SO many great memories in that house. (I am so totally going to start crying!)

I can still remember when it was being built, the first time we got to see it when it really looked like a house. We were SO excited, pure bliss, taking pictures, looking around, not believing it was going to be ours.

don’t I look excited? this was about July 2006, so 5 years ago!

I know this is so random, but the day we moved in, I remember our first night, my parents were there, and my dad was helping Bobby set the floodlights to point the right ways. I was so excited to unpack all my things where I wanted them to go in MY house!

and I also remember how well we kept up our yard in the beginning. It was beginning of October, so it was nice and cool. We would go into the yard every evening and walk around, pulling up EVERY single weed. That didn’t last but a few months though ha!

ours trees and bushes look so small!

One other reason why it is bittersweet is because well, we technically lost money on the house. We got to the point where we were ready to be done with it so we could get a mortgage on our new home, so we kept dropping the price, something others for sale were not as willing to do. So, the new owners got it for a steal, but at least it is sold, right? Could have been a LOT worse for sure.

I guess in a way it is a good thing I didn’t get to go back and say goodbye, because I think it would have been harder. I guess it’s better this way. I will always look back fondly on our four years on Kenzie drive, and am so glad I have a ton of pictures to help me remember. I pray that the new owners have their own new, special memories in her that they can one day look back on with fondness.

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enough sappiness ok? Yesterday I went to the gym and did 5 leg machines, then proceeded to run 3.1 “easy” miles. I was very impressed that my “easy” pace after working my legs out until they were jello was still just above a 10:15 pace. very exciting!

Today I am not sure what I will do for a workout, my OTHER knee has been hurting (not IT band hurting though just started a couple days ago) so I am icing and may just do arm weights and cross training today.

QOTD: Are you in your first home? If not do you remember your first owned home? I hope you have great memories like mine!

Ok ok, so those of you loathing the Disney posts can now rejoice, this is my last recap day of the trip. We woke up on the morning of our last full day back in Castaway Cay (well, pulling in, close enough.) We ate breakfast at the buffet (I think) and made our way out to the island.

my dad pretending to steal the golf cart. We didn’t want to wait for the tram!

Hello Serenity Bay, so we meet again!

lots of relaxing ensued

we read books, Bobby swam out to the sandbar, we walked on the beach, and once again, Bobby and I met at Pelican Point for some beach volleyball. We had a great time playing two on two with two other guys who were pretty good. Before we knew it, it was getting deserted, and we realized we needed to be on the boat in the next 15 minutes. whoops! I am always sad on Castaway Cay afternoon. When everything is shutting down and you are walking the empty paths. Means vacation is almost over. BOO!

So we get back on the ship and my mom is freaking out because we weren’t back yet and she thought the ship was going to leave us. I told her to think about how ridiculous it sounds for Disney to leave a guest on their own private island. ha!

We took some shots of the island with my stalker- I mean mega zoom lens.

we went to the show, then came back and had a friend waiting for us.

We decided to get dressed and go out on the deck and take some pictures.

the wind was blowing like crazy!

We were back in Animator’s Palate for our last dinner.

Dessert was so yummy, baked Alaska and the celebration cake.

We went to bed after we put our luggage in the hall. We had to get up at 5:30 for breakfast. When we woke up we were back in port. So sad! We ate breakfast in Animator’s, said goodbye to our servers and our room host, and got in line to get off the ship. There were so many people trying to get off, it took forever! We made it out and to the car, and back home safe and sound, and exhausted! Just like that, the trip we planned a year ago….was over. SO DEPRESSING!

FINAL THOUGHTS.

Ok, so having been on the magic for a 7 nighter, the wonder for a 5 night double dip and now the Dream for a 5 night double dip, I have a few thoughts on the new ship, the Dream.

Pros:

The ship is gorgeous! The lobby is amazing, the technology SO COOL. I love how now the in room movie system is a lot better (on demand instead of looped) and everything smelled so clean! This was on first time in a verandah room and we loved it. The restaurants were beautiful enchanted garden was so nice, the food was good, and plentiful, it was very ascetically pleasing. We loved how they revamped Cabanas, the buffet. It was much roomier and easier to get food. Instead waiting in a line you pop in and out to get what you want. All the crew members were very kind and pleasant enough. We got to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in 3D, so that was fun. The aquaduck was also way cool. I like how they separated the fireworks from the pirate show so we could go up just to see the fireworks. I loved looking at all of the intricate details of the ship So many things to see!

Cons:

Too many people for this gal. If you have never been on another Disney ship you may not notice, but the pool deck and restaurants felt VERY cramped. The adult pool was TINY, and because of where it was positioned on the ship, families with kids were always walking though, which kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me. The tables in the restaurants were SO close together, the servers couldn’t even get by to get us our food. Our serving team was SO SWEET, we loved them, but our head girl, it was her first cruise ever to be head server. She forgot a lot of our food, dropped food, service was slow, drink glasses stayed empty, all things we have never experienced before on a Disney cruise. me thinks maybe she wasn’t quite ready for the promotion. We had to wait in a line to get off the ship, never have we had to do that before. Serenity Bay was of course a lot more crowded because of all the extra people, and I could feel it. It wasn’t quite as “serene” with so many people. The fitness room was right over my parents room and they heard weights being dropped and treadmills being run on all hours of the day. Granted, none of these things are deal breakers, and we still had a great time, so if you are booked on the Dream please don’t freak out! You will still have an amazing time! These are just a few HONEST observations I had on my 3rd Disney cruise. I wish they would make a smaller boat with all the new technological advances. I think for adults with no kids, they will start going back on the magic and wonder. The kids clubs are awesome, but apparently super awesome on the Dream so I don’t see any of this being a deal breaker to people with kids. I was definitely amazed at the technology and beauty of the Dream, but just got a little anxious with all the people, but I know that doesn’t even bother some people, so take it with a grain of salt, mmk?

Would I go on the Dream again? of COURSE!! Thanks for reading all about my vacation!

Super Saturday! It’s beautiful but hot here. Poor Bobby is still having awful back pain and spasms. he goes to move and it locks up/catches. Anyone ever had this happen? been like this since Wednesday…poor thing.

So, last night was a girls night ice cream party at my house for the ladies in my Sunday school class at church. We had a great time and I am so glad they all came!

Lots of ice cream was consumed

my bowl. yum. oh.

Them due to fabulous planning on my part, I got less than six hours of sleep before I was up at 5:00 this morning for my Team in Training run along the beach! It was my first group run with the team, and as much as I hate waking up early, it was nice to run in only mildly miserable conditions. We ran along the beach and across the Ocean Springs bridge which if you will remember from THIS post, is basically a giant hill I got to go over twice. Unlike last time though, there was no nice cool breeze. I think I sweated out a few pounds!

One of our coaches ran with me and we talked about getting me a training plan, and about my goals or running injury free, etc. It made the 5 miles go by really fast! I was really happy with my time, too. We ran the whole way except when we stopped to get water, and considering the ginormous bridge we doubled back over, we kept a really good pace. I have only had one run further than this one since the Mardi Gras half in February, so I wasn’t sure how my body would react. It did great!

Here is me and Nicole after the run, this was her first time every going four miles. Go Nicole! Nicole was at my house last night too, but she was good and didn’t eat any ice cream. Maybe she needs to rub off on me a little bit. I think I ate enough ice cream for the both of us.

I got home at 8:30 and Bobby, poor thing, was still in a loratab-induced coma. He woke up and ate breakfast and chatted with me….Then I took a 1.5 hour nap. Then we went to eat Mexican…and now HE is taking a nap! How lazy are we?

I wanted to leave you with these beautiful pictures I took from our upstairs balcony on Thursday night as the sun was setting. So pretty!

FFFFRRRIIIDDDAAYY! I am excited for today. The girls in my Sunday school class are coming over tonight for an ice cream party! Then tomorrow I am running 5 miles with my TNT group along the beach. Excited to train with them!

I know I said this before, but for those of you crazy kids loathing the Disney posts, they are almost over, and I will be back to regular running and healthy living posts!

Ok so the day after Nassau was our sea day. We knew the pools would be ridiculously crowded, so we avoided them. We had Palo brunch at 10:00, so we sat on the couches by the adult pool eating bananas to hold us over until then. Bobby and I did brunch on the Magic and were excited for my parents to experience it, and we of course has never done Palo brunch on the Dream.

It was so nice and fancy! We were seated by the window, and introduced to our server.

We were brought to the food, and the server showed us around to the different tables, then told us about the items we could order off the menu.

We made our first go around and dug in!

we ate….and ate…..and ate!

then we had dessert!

In case you didn’t know, Dessert is always my favorite.

the bathroom was really, really pretty. I know I am a dork.

elevators/lobby going into Palo and Remy

After we ate ourselves into a food coma, we all went into our room and watched Little Fockers. It was ok, not near as funny as the first one. They never really are, sadly.

We wandered around the ship to walk our food off that afternoon.

and then sat on our verandahs and read books. So peaceful!

I really can’t remember what we did the rest of the day. I am betting I took a nap HA! I think we may have gone to the show that night in the theatre. it was semi formal night, so we got semi-dressed-up (haha) for dinner.

I borrowed this dress and it was a bit too big on me. whoops.

Dinner was in the Royal Palace. Look how cute the bread basket is!

ffffooooooddddd

we had a friend hanging out in the room after dinner.

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yesterday I did a 3 mile speed workout on the treadmill while Bobby was getting a massage. poor thing can’t even sit in a car straight up without being in excruciating pain. He has been knocked out on and off all day!

Today I am doing cross training and maybe some weights or abs before my TNT run tomorrow. Now I am off to clean for the party tonight!

Gggoooodddddd morning! The next day of our cruise was less eventful (Nassau day in which we stayed on the boat) We woke up the next morning after Castaway Cay pulling into Nassau. Having already been here, we decided to take advantage of a less crowded boat.

We ate breakfast at the Royal Palace

watched the ship dock

and rode the aquaduck! Funny story, my mom HATES roller coasters, anything of the sort. She hates the small drop on Pirates of the Caribbean. She was SO nervous about the aquaduck since it shoots you up and down. Two people ride together, they went after Bobby and I, and she screamed the whole way down. It was so cool to be above the ship looking out at the water! We then went to relax by the adult pool. of course all the chairs were taken so we went to the upper deck for an hour or so, then decided to head to the buffet to get lunch. After that, we did our shopping for souvenirs, and walked around the art galley where we both decided to get a cute print framed.

There are a bunch of hidden mickey’s in it that are fun to find, and the frame has Mickey’s all on it. We hung it by our staircase so I always see it coming down the stairs!

As the ship left we used my super duper zoom lens and got some good shots.

That night was pirate night, aaarrrggghhh! We are goofy and like to dress up and have fun with it.

I know I don’t match and I really don’t care. Just so you know.

dad bought a sword in WDW so he would have one for pirate night. No lie.

Nice one Bobby…

we had time to kill before fireworks, so we went back to the room for awhile, and look what we found! a towel birthday cake for Bobby and a card from our room host. Just don’t eat the towel.

Fireworks at sea!

There was a buffet after, but I was too tired and full so I went back to the room to watch a movie and fall asleep. bobby, of course, went to the buffet and came back with a Turkey leg, fajitas, and some dessert…ha!

next up is Day at sea and Palo brunch!

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So last night I was supposed to go on a run with TNT. It rained on and off all day and night, so I don’t even know if they ended up running. Bobby has been complaining of his back hurting all week, and that it was getting worse. It was so bad yesterday the only comfortable position was laying down. It hurt so bad to drive he could barely talk on the phone and had to pull over to get out and stand up on his way to work. I forced him to call a Dr. today and he finally found one who could see him today. Apparently it’s just a bad muscle strain but he is in bas shape and can barely walk, so I decided to stay home with him. Poor guy. They gave him some muscle relaxers and pain pills so hopefully it will start to heal!

So due to this I went out and ran an easy 2 by myself. in the rain. and the humidity. It was gggrrrooosss! I also did level one of 6 weeks to 6 pack. my abs are already getting flabby again. I worked to hard for that to happen!

Back to the Dream! Ok I left off the afternoon we got on the ship. That night we had dinner at Animator’s Palate.

and the next morning we woke up pulling into Castaway Cay!

I know, I look very very sleepy. I literally jumped out of bed, threw on my swimsuit and was ready to hit the beach!

Serenity Bay. aaahhhhh

adults only…bliss!

a great day!

we lounged around that evening

and had dinner at Enchanted Garden

and for fun, of course, an “eat your salad” picture.

Our next cruise day is Nassau!

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Last night, Bobby and I went to the gym and did chest, tri’s, and legs, and 20 minutes on the bike. It STORMED thunder and lightning while we were there, and the power even went out. On Twitter this morning I said I was going to do a rain dance…I guess it worked! We have needed rain! Tonight I meet up with my TNT group for a run, it will be my first time getting to run with them!

Sunday morning, I made pancakes for Bobby. Well….Star Wars pancakes. Let me explain. For Christmas in his stocking I gave Bobby Star Wars pancake molds from WIlliam Sonoma. I thought it would be EASY to use. The package says it is. Well, it was an EPIC FAIL! They kept sticking to the cut out even when I sprayed them with pam, they were hard to flip over, kept falling apart…what. a. mess. I ended up making one of each of the 3 molds then making the others regular round pancakes. Don’t buy these. It’s a joke.

Luke….I am your Father…SURPRISE! Great one for Father’s Day.

Yoda was cute and wise-looking…until I tried to get him off the griddle…

ok moving on. We loaded up and drove to my parents house and had a yummy lunch. There was lots of puppy playing. Yall. This dog is INSANE.

after lunch it was time for dad to open gifts.

why are my presents wrapped in birthday and girly paper?

I’m scared. What did yall get me?

WOW! I know what this is!

yall are the best kids a dad could ever ask for. I will now buy you whatever you want.

ya right I’m not buying you a think. That’s what your husband is for.

something to exercise with. Did mom make you buy this?

While Bobby hooked up the Wii to his best 50 inch TV, more Nola playing ensued.

then we put her up because my dogs were getting SO stressed out.

Time for fun Wii pictures! Dad was upset because when he did his BMI test it told him he was overweight and made his character fat.I about peed on myself I was laughing so hard.

mom hula hooping. Priceless.

seriously, who hula hoops like that? no wonder she failed miserably.

dad playing a balance game.

Now this next one was Hilarious. I made my sister and dad play sword fighting on Wii Sports Resort. If you have it, you know how comical it can be.

SO FUNNY. We had a good time. I just hope they actually play the dang thing, I’m having second thoughts, maybe I should of got him one of the best drones. I’m sure he wouldn’t just let that sit there.

Ok moving on….

So yesterday I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I did 4 miles in 39:30. I was proud, Since my disastrous half marathon in February, I have only run 4+ miles maybe 3-4 times. I was happy to know I haven’t backslidden (is that a word?) too far. I also did 15 minutes on the bike. Today I will do some strength training and maybe an easy run.

QOTD: Do you play video games with your family? What ones?

PS: Don’t forget, you can now book Disney packages for 2012. It’s FREE for you to use me to book your trip! Also, I can book non-Disney trips as well![email protected]

I hope everyone had a fab weekend! I will have pictures from Father’s Day up tomorrow. We had a great time at my parents house. My dad liked his gifts.

Ok, so, we were discussing the Running Skirts sales summit. We woke up on day 2, and all went for a morning run by the ocean. It was so beautiful, nice and cool outside, no humidity. LOVE THIS WEATHER!

Paige and I on our balcony before the run

my knee/IT band was giving me fits. I played sand volleyball twice on Castaway Cay on the cruise, and it had been hurting me since then. I ended up walking for part of the run. I felt bad slowing everyone down, but didn’t really have a choice.

We ran into a guy putting his surfboard into his car, and asked it we could take a picture.

I couldn’t get over the gorgeous scenery.

We covered somewhere between 4 and 5 miles, and then were dropped off back at the hotel to shower and get ready for some training.

next skirt outfit.

We had a great day of training and I learned a lot, and then that afternoon we were sent off to the spa to enjoy some relaxation time. You weren’t supposed to take pictures, but I snuck a couple.

the spa was so awesome. It had indoor and outdoor Jacuzzis, a heated outdoor pool, sauna, steam room, relaxation room, room with fireplace, it was so awesome.

see the big balcony on the second floor? That is our suite.

beautiful flowers. everywhere. smelled. wonderful.

That night we went to a cute place on the water called Jake’s for drinks before we went to dinner. Sadly, June gloom had set in.

but we still had a great time!

after drinks, we went to a Mexican place in Del Mar for dinner. It was so yummy! Loved it!

Good times were had by all, and I was so sad we had to leave the next day! Here are a couple other pictures I took of the resort the morning we left.

the awesome bathroom in our room

Wednesday morning we were all sadly brought to the airport to begin our journey home. I know the trip seemed so condensed in these posts but there was so much going on, I had such a great first visit to California and hope I get to go back soon!

Hi! I am Heather Montgomery, formerly known as Running With Sass®, a 31 year old living in Tampa, Florida with my husband and two year old daughter. I’m just a regular girl who likes to run, travel, go to Disney World, and eat junk food.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Feel free to contact me, (or for PR inquiries) at [email protected]